Wurlitzer Jukebox Photos and Repair Journals
Retro Electronics and Audio Lab,
Midland, TX.
Updated 7/28/06
Quick Navigate: 1015 1100 1250 1900 2300 2600 2800 2800(Junk)
3000 3100 3300 3300(Junk) 3600
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Wurlitzer 2800 Jukebox
Repair Journal and Photos (July
2006)
1946 Wurlitzer 1015
Pictures. (June 2006) We replaced just a bad volume control on
this machine, its electronics having been repaired several years ago by
another company. We present these picture page for your enjoyment. It
is not a complete repair journal.
Wurlitzer
3300 Americana III Repair Journal and Pictures
(April 2006) This machine received a new power cord and ballasts,
cleaning and
lubrication and new capacitors in the amp.
1962 Wurlitzer
2600 (Jan. 2006) Repair Journal and
pictures for 2600.
This machine received a new Pickering magnetic cartridge and
preamp, all capacitors were replaced in the junction box and amp, new
ballasts and power cord installed, mechanism was cleaned and lubricated.
1966 Wurlitzer 3000. (October 2005) This
machine had a hum problem but mechanically appears OK. We left the
cabinet at the location and removed the amp, control chassis and
ballasts. We will replace capacitors on the amp and control chassis and
replace the ballasts which have brittle wiring.
Photos: Amp
before repairs, top. Underside
of amp before repairs. Control
chassis and ballasts before repairs.
Read Complete
Illustrated Story Of Wurlitzer 3000 (Dec. 2005)
1956 Wurlitzer 1900. (August 2005)
Read
complete story of the Wurlitzer 1900 restoration.
Will
need a general over-all revitalization. We will try to replace the
Cobra tonearm with a stereo tonearm to allow a magnetic phono cartridge
to be used. We have removed the amp and are beginning repairs. We
cleaned corrosion off the amp chassis using Rid-ox and are replacing
capacitors on the amp.
We are installing a new tone arm from a 3200 model to allow us to
install a magnetic cartridge. Also, we will construct a custom
tube-type magnetic phono preamp for the utmost in reliability.
Photos before restoration: Front
View Amp
Ballasts
Carousel
Selection
Unit Rear
of Mechanism Maker's
Plate
Title
Strips
1947 Wurlitzer 1100.
(August 2005)
Here is a complete
illustrated article chronicling the Wurlitzer 1100 repairs. It is a
work in progress and will continue to be updated.
This machine is
in excellent physical condition.. The design of the 1100 is very
user-friendly, both the
front and rear open up for easy servicing.
We have completed working on the amp. Some of the capacitors appeared
to have been replaced recently with new ones but some of the old
electrolytics were still connected. We went ahead and replaced the
remaining old electrolytics and installed a new power cord. Someone had
put a 10 amp fuse in the fuse holder so we replaced with a 3 amp for
better protection. Also, the 5U4 and 6L6 tubes appeared very well worn
and tested weak so we replaced them with brand new ones. We checked
inside the cobra phono preamp and all the caps had been replaced so we
left it alone.
We then re-assembled the amp in the machine and proceeded to test it.
There was a lot of old hardened grease in there so we cleaned it with
Tech Spray G3 cleaner and re-lubricated with Phonolube, and Hammond
organ generator oil.. One thing we found is that penetrating oil is not
a good lubricant for long-term use. It can bind with old grease and
turn really gummy. One of the best things we have found to use is
Hammond organ generator oil as it is designed to remain stable and
free-flowing for a long while.
One problem we observed is with the putting back of the record tray
into the magazine after play is complete. The motor would shut off
before the tray was completely inserted. There is a cam at the front of
the mechanism that operates the motor shut-off switch. We loosened the
set screws and turned the cam lobe slightly clockwise so the motor
would run a little longer and completely insert the tray before
shutting off.
We removed the junction box and found that the insulation on the power
cord wires was in really bad shape and falling off. We also saw
overspray from paint on the deteriorated cord so this unit was
cosmetically restored before but the obvious safety hazard of frayed
wiring had been left. The power cord was replaced and we electrically
disconnected the old screw-type fuse holder and replaced it with a
cartridge type fuseholder and installed a 7-amp fuse. We also included
a 2 amp fuse for the control transformer.
Then we removed the ballast mounting bracket and attached new
fluorescent lamp ballasts and added a new power cord and 1-amp fuse for
the ballasts. The title strip rotating motor wiring was re-done as the
connections to the microswitch were previously only twisted and not
soldered. This mechanism works in a fairly complex way. When the button
is pushed to change to the next page of title strips, a wound-up spring
supplies motive power to move the mechanism. As the mechanism nears its
end of rotation, a microswitch is triggered and the title strip motor
runs for a few seconds to wind up the spring mechanism. I wonder why
this sort of complex arrangement was used?
We also ran a new power line for 110 volt AC to the ballasts and
title strip motor and disconnected the 110 volt AC wires from the
keyboard cable. While the motor was removed, we sprayed the keyboard
switches with Deoxit. We also ran new wiring, including new plugs and
receptacles, to the color cylinder motors. We rebuilt the bottom lamp
sockets with new wires and installed compact fluorescent bulbs for long
life and low heat.
We removed the transformer for the top of cabinet lamps and
disassembled it, adding heat shrink tubing over the 110 volt AC leads
to help protect against shorts. Also a 1-amp fuse and new power cord
were added to the transformer. The secondary 6-volt leads from the
transformer were frayed and spliced so we replaced them with 12-gauge
high-temperature insulation zip cord and we wrapped metallic tape
around the cable where it passes near the lamps to provide addditional
heat protection for the cable. The lamps are now brighter.
We observed sticky operation of the mechanism after about a week....we
found that more cleaning was going to be needed especially between the
record trays and on the selector mechanism that slides up and down.
These areas were retaining grease that we could not get out without
disassmbly.
In order to release the top retaining plate of the record rack, it is
necessary to remove some of the spring tension on the trays. The top
plate stablilizes the rod to which the springs attach against the
tension. Removing about 2/3's of the springs will do the trick. We then
removed all of the trays, spring connecting rods, bearings, and the
selector slider mechanism.
All of the rotating surfaces of the trays and the bearings and the
selector slider were soaked in Varsol for 2 days. Then, we cleaned the
parts some more with Gumout and a toothbrush. After the Gumout cleaning
we wiped off residue and sprayed with Con-tak cleaner. THEN we polished
the parts with "Never-Dull" wadding cloth. We were careful to not get
chemicals on the labels for the record number.
We degreased the center rod of the trays carefully with Gumout on a rag
and scrubbed the other parts in there with Gumout on a toothbrush,
being careful not to get Gumout on the wood trim. Reassembling the
mechanism led to good performance.
Another problem we faced was an intermittent crackling noise as the
tonearm moved to the center of the record. We removed the tonearm and
re-wired it with new shielded cable and added a new phono plug.
Also, the coin mechanism was intermittent. Sometimes when a coin was
inserted, it would jam. We removed the coin unit and applied Deoxit gel
to the coin switch contacts, then burnished with a lint-free cloth.
This significantly improved coin performance.
Finally, we installed a grounded power cord and ran ground wires to all
components for extra safety.
Photos: Front view.
Amp before
repairs. Selection
buttons. Selection
coils. Underside
of amp before repairs.
Front
panel. Mechanism
motor. Phono
preamp. Record
magazine. Speaker.
Testing
the machine for the first time.
Record
playing on the turntable. Completed
amp. Inside
the preamp. Repairing
the lamp transformer.
Finished
lamp transformer. Title
strip motor before repairs. Title
strip moving mechanism. Re-wired
title strip motor.
Deteriorated
wiring in junction box. Re-wired
junction box. Fluorescent
ballast and mounting bracket before replacement.
New
ballasts installed. Lamp
sockets with old wiring. Re-wired
lamp sockets. Disassembling
the record rack.
Chad
cleaning the record racks. Cleaning
the parts with Varsol. Allowing
the clean parts to dry.
Cleaned
record trays. Cleaned
bearings. Rewiring
the tone arm. New
lamp wiring in dome.
Completed
front view. Dark
view. Top
of cabinet, front view. Bottom
of cabinet, front view.
Chad
with completed unit.
Junk early 60's Wurlitzer
2800 This
unit is at the Juke Warehouse and is fairly complete except for the amp
but will need a lot of work...we may someday get this one for a
restoration project. Front View.
Junk Wurlitzer Americana III Model 3300 This
unit is also at the Juke
Warehouse, also
2 LPC-1 front panels can be seen. (Note: we had previously incorrectly
identified this unit as a 3400 Statesman).
Front
View.
1970's
Wurlitzer Super Star
Model 3600. (July 2005) This jukebox was having
distorted
sound on one channel but otherwise OK, phono cartridge output was good,
so we removed just the amp to the shop for repairs. All 4 output
transistors on the amp showed to be bad on the transistor tester. We
were able to find another amp with good transistors, so we checked the
capacitors on it and replaced any with high ESR, and installed the new
amp in the juke. We also found that someone had set the voltage
adjustment on the power supply to 90-105 volts...when operating on the
115-120 volts at the usual wall outlet, this position may result in
excessive power supply voltage: we re-set the jumper to the 110-120
volt position.
Photos: Amp
before repairs. Control
chassis and amp installed in unit. Mechanism.
Front
view of complete unit.
1950
Wurlitzer model 1250. (July 2005)
This machine was somewhat functional but
needed some repairs. The power cord was in bad shape so we
replaced it along with adding new fluorescent ballasts and connecting
fuses for the fluorescent lamps (1 amp) and the control transformer
(2.5 amp). It would play one record, return the tray, and play the same
record again. We solved this problem by manually resetting all the pins
on the memory unit...the crank arm was stuck on one. We greased the
selection mechanism and now could get the unit to select.
However,
the turntable speed was very erratic and somewhat slow. We found that
the idler wheel had black tape wrapped around it to try and increase
the speed, so we removed the idler wheel and mounted it to a bolt which
was then inserted into the drill. We mounted some sandpaper to the
workbench and held the rotating idler wheel to it to remove the
hardened outer surface of the rubber...then, we applied rubber
rejuvenator and re-installed the wheel. The speed was constant now but
still too slow. We removed the turntable motor unit and completely
disassembled and thoroughly cleaned it. Also, the insulation was frayed
on the motor leads, so we repaired them with heatshrink tubing and
added new cables.
We checked the electrolytic capacitors
in the amp and it appeared they had been recently replaced...they
checked good on ESR meter so we left them in. Most paper caps had been
replaced with new mylars but there were a few old ones left so we
replaced them. The 6L6 tubes tested weak so replaced them with new
Sovteks.
Some selections when pressed would not activate the mechanism...we
adjusted the override switch for consistant operation of the mechanism.
Also, we adjusted the tone arm height so the bottom tone arm doesn't
contact the record when the top side is being played. Also it was found
that sometimes the machine was not rejecting at the end of the record
when the top tone arm was playing. Adjusting the tonearm height allowed
the metal part of the tonearm at the rear to contact the switch lever
properly.
We installed a grounded power cord and ground wires to all components
to help prevent a shock hazard.
Photos:
1950
Wurlitzer on the truck. Inside
junction box, with new fuses. Top
of junction box. Rear of
cabinet.
Mechanism
Record
Magazine Turntable
Speaker
Repaired
Turntable Motor Assembly
Cleaning
the motor parts. Resurfacing
the idler wheel using the drill. Amp
under-chassis view. Completed
amp.
1959
Wurlitzer Model
2300. (June 2005) This machine is
in very
good condition and was basically functional but had some age-related
problems. The turntable belt was replaced, the
turntable motor had a new cord and new motor mounts attached, and we replaced
old
capacitors in the amp, control center, and coin unit, and replaced one
6973 tube. We replaced a bad molex connector going from the coin unit
to the control chassis with new Cinch connectors. We have cleaned and
lubricated the mechanism, and
upgraded the old selenium rectifier to a new silicon rectifier. New
fluorescent ballasts, starters, and a bulb were
installed. We upgraded the phono cartridge to an Audio-Technica
magnetic and installed a phono preamp, and installed a new power cord
and plug. We changed the fuses in some of the fuse holders from high
amp values like 15 and 8 amps to 6 and 4 amps respectively to give
better overload protection, and installed a 1.5 amp fuse in the
fluorescent ballast circuit. A switch was installed on the keyboard
solenoid to provide free credits for selection but allow the solenoid
to be switched off when not in use to prevent overheating.
Photos: Unloading
the machine from the truck. Front
of machine with title strips removed. Rear
of carousel mechanism.
Side
of
machine. Amp
before repairs. Power
supply before repairs. Maker's
Plate.
Amp
removed from the jukebox, ready for repairs. Replacing
capacitors on the circuit board.
Replacing
capacitors at the rear of the amp chassis. Completed
amp chassis. Replacing
capacitors in the power supply.
New
capacitors in control chassis. Repairing
the wiring in the turntable motor. Testing
the machine, front view.
Coin
mechanism with new capacitors and plugs.
New
fluorescent ballasts installed on brackets with stand-off nuts under
brackets for additional heat dissipation.
Solenoid
enable switch. Coin
mechanism plug connection. Rear
view of completed unit.
Completed
unit, dark view 1. Completed
unit, dark view 2. Chad
with completed unit.
1967
Wurlitzer
Americana, Model 3100 (October 2004) This machine would not
really do
anything when received. We found that there was a problem in the
keyboard switch contacts, not allowing the selector mechanism to
start. Adjusting and cleaning the keyboard switches allowed the
select and play cycle to start. The turntable motor had sagged
down, and also the turntable belt was stretched. Repairing these
items allowed a record to play. Then, it was found that only the
"A" sides of the records were working. The lift arm
that pushes the record up to play the "B" side had
damage to the record gripper tip on the end, causing a jam. We
dissasembled the mechanism and carousel to repair the lift arm.
This repair, plus adjustments to the carousel stop points,
allowed both sides of the record to play.
Another problem was
discovered...certain selections were not cancelling in the memory
after they played. Adjustments to the crank arm, plus a small
amount of penetrating oil to the memory pins, solved the problem.
The machine also received repairs to the woofer leads, a new
stylus, new plugs on the lighting cords, and a new power cord.
The output capacitors from the power transistors were replaced,
too, and any old paper capacitors in the mech and amp were
replaced.
Wurlitzer 3100 photos: 1967 Wurlitzer Americana model 3100
dark view, Wurlitzer 3100
Mechanism,
Chad
with the Wurlitzer 3100, Wurlitzer
3100 on the Tommy Lift
Equipment Photos
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